


Ghost Towns

by changeapproved



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2019-07-29 07:43:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16259750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/changeapproved/pseuds/changeapproved
Summary: The Doctor bumps into someone she thought was long gone. The gang are confused.





	Ghost Towns

Travelling with the Doctor was weird and wonderful. Ryan was a simple guy - as a child growing up on a diet of superhero movies of course he’d craved excitement and adventure. As he’d grown older (matured, as his nan would have said, and then she'd have laughed and said something about silly teenagers thinking there were so grown up these days) he’d begun to appreciate the quieter things in life. That had been something he had begrudgingly shared with Graham, much to his nan’s amusement and chagrin.

 

These last few months though, he wouldn’t trade for anything. His relationship with Graham (his granddad, he sometimes called him in his head) had only strengthened since his nan's death, and his relationship with Yaz was growing too. Into what, he wasn’t quite sure yet, but he was on board for the ride wherever it took them.

 

Then there was the Doctor. Somehow the most alien and the most human person he’d ever met and was sure was ever likely to meet. The smartest person in every room and often the most compassionate. That’s what two hearts would do for you, he supposed. She was...indescribable in a way. She was the leader of their little gang (not the word he’d have chosen, but he wasn’t going to argue with her) and yet somehow never quite one of them.

 

Sometimes he wondered why she kept them around. She certainly didn’t need them. He’d mentioned it to Yaz once - her theory was that the Doctor liked having people to show off to. That was probably part of it, he conceded. He'd never met anyone so enamoured with their own cleverness before.

 

They were on another desert planet when they met _her_. Sun beat down on the back of his neck and Graham was complaining again. He’d only just finished getting the sand out from between his toes since their last visit and he damn well didn’t want a repeat experience. The Doctor just grinned at him, as she always did, and made some comment about exoskeletons and this not really being sand. Ryan stopped listening after that, partially because he didn’t really care, and partially because somewhere in the distance he was sure he could see the outline of a person walking towards them.

 

He nudged Yaz and nodded his head towards the figure.

 

“Another alien, d’ya reckon?” he said.

 

That caught the Doctor’s attention. “Best go take a look, shall we?” It was posed as a question, but they all knew it wasn’t one, and before she'd even finished the sentence the Doctor was already several strides ahead of them with a strange sort of jaunty bounce in her step. Ryan sighed and Yaz shrugged her shoulders. They followed.

 

It took longer than Ryan was expecting. Desert wastelands were tricky that way. Didn't matter how long you walked for, things never seemed to get any closer.

 

The woman, as it turned out the mysterious figure was, was fiddling with some kind of weird, clunky watch when they drew level with her. She clicked her tongue in frustration when it evidently didn’t do what she wanted it to do, muttering about the _‘bloody thing never bloody working_ ’, and then looked up. Somehow even more eye catching than her full head of wild, curly hair was the mischievous gleam in her eye and wicked smile that promised nothing but trouble. Ryan felt a strange sense of foreboding.

 

“Hello there,” she said. “Something I can do for you this fine afternoon?”

 

There was a short pause then. Ryan turned to the Doctor, because usually this would be the part where she’d introduce them all and then get lost somewhere in her own ramblings about whatever the hell was going on in wherever the hell they where.

 

For once though, against all odds, the Doctor remained silent. Her eyes were fixed firmly on the woman in front of her with...was that surprise he could see on her face? He wasn’t sure.

 

The woman held out a hand for the Doctor to shake, raising an eyebrow as she did so. “Professor River Song. Archaeologist.” In that grey dress she didn't look much like an archaeologist, but who was Ryan to judge.

 

The Doctor took it, but her mouth remained firmly closed and her gaze was fixed and unwavering. It was possibly the longest he had ever heard her go without speaking. It was...alarming to say the least.

 

Thankfully, Yaz took charge, presumably also noticing that their fearless leader seemed struck dumb by this strange woman trekking in the middle of the desert.

 

“I’m Yasmin. This is Graham and Ryan. We’re just...travellers. Passing through,” she said. “This is-”

 

“Hello, River,” the Doctor interrupted in the softest voice he’d ever heard from her.

 

River’s tilted her head to one side. “Hello. Have we met?” she asked.

 

The Doctor smiled. Not the broad, slightly manic grin he was used to. This was something different. Something sadder. He honestly wasn’t sure what to do with that information.

 

“Yes. A few times. Never in the right order though,” she said. River blinked, and then an impossibly wide grin crossed her face. Or was that more of a smirk? Either way, Ryan found it a little terrifying.

 

“Doctor,” she said. A short laugh escaped and she took a step closer so she and the Doctor were almost nose to nose. She put her hands on the Doctor’s shoulders and then ran them down her arms. “My my. Look at you, my love.”

 

Okay now that was just downright weird.

 

“Yep. Been through a few...changes lately. Good changes though! Took a bit of time getting used to. People kept calling me madam, you know? Very weird. Distracting.” And there was the rambling.

 

River laughed again. “I can imagine.” She took a step back then and gave the Doctor a thorough look up and down. Ryan glanced at Graham and Yaz, and was pleased to see they look about as perturbed as he felt. “Let me guess - you chose your own outfit?”

 

“Of course! Why…” The Doctor frowned and looked down at herself as though seeing her bizarre mishmash of clothes for the first time. “Do you not like it?” And since when did she care about what other people thought of her?

 

“I love it,” said River. The reached forward and ran a single finger down one of the bright yellow braces. “This is... _exactly_ what I’d expect someone who’s been a man for the last fifteen hundred years to wear in the event of a sudden sex change.”

 

Whether or not the Doctor had picked up on the teasing in the other woman’s voice was unclear, because she simply smiled in relief. Ryan didn’t have the headspace to really consider it though, because this woman was one hundred percent, absolutely, definitely, without a shadow of a doubt hitting on the Doctor. And it was the weirdest thing he’d ever seen in his entire life. The worst part was that the Doctor herself seemed entirely oblivious to it. Apparently that humongous intellect of hers had a few gaps when it came to social interaction.

 

She turned back to them, apparently either not noticing or not caring about the way River was toying with the lapels of her coat and readjusting it around her shoulders. “Professor River Song, this is my new gang. Gang, this is my wife.”

 

And with that bombshell dropped, River grabbed hold of the Doctor’s hand and began pulling her back in the direction of the TARDIS.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"So," said River. She held a TARDIS blue book in her hand and flicked through it idly. Ryan had asked what it was and the woman had tapped her nose and said something about spoilers. "What number is this then?"

 

The Doctor paused and looked over the insane pair welding goggles strapped to her face. Ryan had tried to tell her that they could pick up a more practical pair down by the garage near his flat, but she was having none of it. "Thirteen. Where are you?"

 

"With you, actually," said River, amused. "Darillium. You're sleeping right now."

 

The Doctor frowned, and then pulled a tiny hammer from...somewhere and began smashing up a coil she'd pulled from River's watch (though Ryan was beginning to suspect that it wasn't actually a watch) against the already messy workbench. "I don't sleep. I power nap. Blink and then I'm done."

 

"Well...I may have helped you along the way a bit," said River. The Doctor spun around aghast.

 

"You drugged me? So you could steal my TARDIS? _Again_?"

 

River laughed. "Honestly, the number of times you've fallen for that old hallucinogenic lipstick trick..." The Doctor pouted. _Actually_ pouted. "Oh sweetie. Don't be cross." River stepped forward, hands once again reaching for the Doctor's braces (her coat had already been stripped by River and discarded haphazardly on the floor). She stroked along the fabric and somehow the Doctor seemed unmoved. Ryan knew he should look away, but a strange fascination pulled him in...and he kind of wished he had popcorn. He'd never seen anybody speak to the Doctor like this. With such...familiarity. She always seemed aloof somehow. A little above the people around her. Not here though. Not with River while the TARDIS hummed happily around them. Like it knew something Ryan didn't.

 

The Doctor ducked under River's arms then, because somehow during Ryan's musings she had pressed her back against the workbench.

 

"Don't be like that," said River. She caught the Doctor's hand and received a reproachful look in response. "We've been there for ten years now. Sometimes a girl needs time for herself! Besides, I _do_ sleep sometimes and don't think I haven't noticed you sneaking off on your own little adventures."

 

"Yes well..." The Doctor waved a hand somewhere above her head. "Things to do. People who needed to...run. And there was a _thing_ with an apricot on Raxicoricofallapatorius." She paused. "And watching you sleep was creepy, you said. What was I supposed to do? The TARDIS gets bored."

 

"She does," River agreed. "Which is why I thought she'd enjoy a trip with a competent driver for a change."

 

"I can fly the TARDIS perfectly! Ace pilot, I am."

 

The machine in question whirred loudly and golden lights ran up and down the pillars around them. They were underneath it, but Ryan was sure the console was currently lit up like a Christmas tree. River smirked and the Doctor huffed.

 

"She doesn't like it when you leave the breaks on."

 

"I like the noise."

 

River looked at her with a fond sort of exasperation. He could sort of see it, Ryan decided, them being married. They had that old married couple bickering thing going on at least. The visual age gap was a bit strange, made even stranger by that fact that the Doctor was apparently about a thousand years older than River. It was...confusing.

 

"Pass me the doo-dar," said the Doctor. She turned back around and held out her hand. River rolled her eyes and moved to do as she as told. How she knew what to pick up from the vast array of gadgets from the box on the floor, Ryan would never know.

 

"The miniature particle accelerator?" asked River.

 

"That's what I said. And the thingymabob. I need that too." The Doctor blew strands of blonde hair from her eyes and picked up a blowtorch.

 

River plucked something else from the box and put them down on the workbench. What was once her watch was now a scattering of pieces. Thankfully it seemed River was more concerned with brushing herself as close to the Doctor as possible than she did with her broken contraption. Not what Ryan would be doing to a woman with a blowtorch in her hand, but he actually valued his safety. He had a feeling River was the kind of woman who liked to play with fire.

 

"How long have you been married?" asked Yaz.

 

For a moment River looked surprised, as though she had forgotten there were other people in the room.

 

"Two hundred years on and off?" said River at the same time the Doctor said, "Seven-hundred years." They looked at each other. Then the Doctor added, "Over four billion if you count being trapped in that box on Gallifrey." River's eyebrows contracted as if in concern, but the Doctor just shrugged her slim shoulders.

 

"That's bonkers," said Ryan. That 'four billion' thing he wasn't touching with a bargepole.

 

"Don't they give out awards for people who have been married for a really long time?" said Yaz. "You get a letter from the Queen."

 

But River wasn't listening. "So it really has been a long time for you then," she said with interest. The Doctor made a small noise of agreement, but her attention already seemed back on the project in front of her. "How long have you been you?"

 

"Few months," said the Doctor. "Three maybe? Two? Two months, eleven days, twelve hours, and thirteen minutes. Possibly."

 

River hummed and pressed her front to the Doctor's back. "So it's probably time to take this new body of yours for a test drive."

 

"Already have," said the Doctor. Beside him, Yaz clamped her hand to her forehead. Christ. "Been on loads of adventures, right, gang? Done a lot of running. Saved a few people. Toppled a fascist zygon regime."

 

River's hands came to rest on the Doctor's hips.

 

"Uh...Doctor I don't think that's what she meant." Yaz was much braver than Ryan was, he concluded.

 

There was a pause as the Doctor's quick fingers stilled. Somehow what had moments ago looked like a collection of scrap metal, was now already taking shape and glowing a dull red.

 

"Oh," she said, and something heavy settled over the room. Ryan didn't know what the story was here, but even he knew there was something going on that he didn't understand. Something that had caused the sparkle in the Doctor's eyes to dull despite her obvious joy at spending time with her wife. It was hard for him to wrap his head around.

 

The Doctor turned around abruptly, then without warning put both of her hands against River's cheeks and pulled her down until their lips were pressed together. It looked clumsy and overly enthusiastic and it went on for...longer than Ryan was comfortable with. Yaz put a hand over his eyes and he pushed her away.

 

Then it was over. They pulled away from each other and River huffed out a laugh. The Doctor searched her face for something, cheeks flushed pink.

 

"That was what you meant, right?" she said, suddenly unsure. Ryan looked at Yaz, wondering if she'd caught the same hint of vulnerability in the Doctor's voice. "You're River Song and I'm the Doctor so..."

 

"Yes, sweetie," said River. She cupped the Doctor's face gently in her hands and stroked her thumbs over the Doctor's cheekbones. "I'm River Song and you're the Doctor. No matter what face you wear or how long it's been, I'll always be your wife. And I'll always love you."

 

"No matter how long it's been," the Doctor repeated, as though reassuring herself. And did her eyes look glassy or was it just the TARDIS lighting?  

 

"Ryan," said Yaz quietly beside him. He dragged his eyes away from the couple to look at his friend. "I think it's time to leave them alone."

 

It took him a second, but he mumbled in affirmative and let her grip his arm and pull him towards the steps.

**Author's Note:**

> Please forgive my possibly iffy interpretation of the characters. It's hard to judge them on a single episode.
> 
> tumblr: @change-approved


End file.
